Extra Income Ideas

Extra Income Ideas

If you came to the ‘net in search extra income ideas you can use to put more money in your pocket, then you came to the right place! The information and ideas you find within can be applied by nearly anyone, of nearly any age and background, so don’t worry that you might not “have what it takes.” You found this site, didn’t you? That shows a certain aptitude for both technology and research, and it displays a determination to make your life better. Armed with those things, we can really go places, and as to the particulars, you’ll learn what you need as you go, depending on which of the many routes you decide to pursue.

Whether you’re interested in working primarily online or off, I will show you, in the pages and articles that follow, how you can build your own business (to whatever size you’re comfortable with) and reap the rewards of sustainable, long term profitability. (If you already know you’re most interested in working offline, then make your next stop the article entitled “Earning Extra Money – Physical Goods & Services“, and if your preference runs more to the online world, check out “Earning Extra Money – How to Earn Money on the Internet” next).

We’ll look at a number of approaches, and within those, there are a near-infinite number of ways they can be implemented (it’s very true that every business is different, each bearing the unique stamp of its creator), so whatever you take away from this site, it will be quite easy to make it fully and completely your own.

This site was built on two guiding principles. The principle of complete truth, and the principle of full disclosure.

In a nutshell, what this means is that I’m not going to leave you hanging. When I explain something to you, be it a top level business concept or a specific strategy, I’m going to tell you all the ins and outs of it. All the pros and cons of using it. Full disclosure means that I’m not going to try to trick you. I’m not going to nag you for your e-mail address so I can bombard you weekly with e-mails that try to pressure you into buying something, and IF I recommend a product, it’s because I use it myself and know it’s good. Oftentimes, products have affiliate programs associated with them (that means, if I recommend it and you buy it, I get a cut). A common strategy that a lot of marketers use is to give you some decent information, recommend a product and conveniently forget to mention that they’re an affiliate for that product. That’s not the way we do things here. In ALL CASES, if I’m an affiliate for a product I’m recommending, you’re going to know about it. We expect that sort of behavior from the financial gurus who write for MSN and the like (note the “full disclosure” statements at the end of their articles when they recommend certain stocks and the like), and we should expect no less from people offering business and related information.

Structurally, each article on this site is put together in three “parts.” The information section (what you’re reading now). Beneath that, a summary of bullet points, highlighting the most important concepts on the page, and lastly (if applicable), a list of important resources to keep in mind. I’ve tried to lay this material out like a self paced study course, so you can find exactly the information you’re looking for, exactly when you need it.

What’s in it for you?

Look, enough of the background, let’s cut to the chase. You’re here because you’re looking for extra income ideas to put money in your pocket, and I’m here to point the way to sustainable profits. In order to get the most out of this site, there are a few things you need to understand, and these are important.

• DON’T ever pay for a tool if you don’t need to! Even if I recommend a product that costs money, I’ll show you one or more free versions that accomplish the same basic goal. In most cases, the major difference between the free and paid versions is a matter of scale and efficiency (i.e., a free widget might help you market your product to 75 places at a time, while the paid version has ten times the marketing “firepower”). Still, before you shell out your hard earned money, use the free stuff to prove to yourself that it works! Once you’ve made a bit of money, then and only then should you consider scaling up to something bigger and better. The idea is to make money, remember? And I don’t want you spending a dime on anything you see here until you’re convinced that it’s exactly what you need.

• DO take a scientific approach. Try one thing at a time, and give it an honest effort. Test, and see if it works. If it does, then keep doing more stuff like that. If you can’t make it work, don’t lose any sleep over it, just move on to something else. Repetition in the key to success! This is your first “big secret.” The best baseball players in the league barely break a batting average of .300. That means that when they step up to the plate, they manage a hit about thirty percent of the time. Or, to put another way, they miss about seventy percent of the time. What’s that got to do with you? Only this: Don’t get discouraged if you don’t hit a “home run” your very first time up to bat. Most people don’t. Anybody who tells you different is trying to sell you something. Keep that in mind as you work through the ideas of interest to you on this site, and keep trying! You’ll find an idea that “clicks” for you, and when you do, you’ll know. Believe me, you’ll know!

• DON’T get distracted! Internet Marketers are especially good at the art of distracting you. Here’s how it works (this is “Big Secret #2) on this page, so I hope you’re taking notes! IM guys (“Internet Marketing” guys), will tell you that focus and sustained action are needed in order to succeed in this business. Many (but not all…definitely not all!) will fill your head with visions of what you can accomplish if only you’ll give them a bit of your money, and when you do…when you sign up for whatever it is they’re selling (which almost always includes giving them your e-mail address), do you know what happens?

With a mind numbing frequency, you get an e-mail from these self-styled gurus hawking “the next new thing.” The next shiny object. So while they’re telling you to stay focused, they’re forever shoving a new product in your face, trying to distract you into buying it too. If you’re not careful, you can wind up blowing a few thousand bucks and be sitting on a veritable mountain of products (some with good information in it, and some not), and still, you won’t have accomplished your goal. Worse, you won’t even have gotten started! Here you’ll be armed to the teeth with several dozen perfectly viable extra income ideas, and you won’t have done anything with them. Distraction kills! Never forget that.

• DO remember that saving money is every bit as good as making it! Money not spent for a thing is still money in your pocket, and here we come with Big Secret #3 on this page. No matter which of the extra income ideas you settle in on, you’re going to need some basic supplies. At a minimum (even if you’re dealing in the world of physical products), you’ll need a decent spreadsheet, word processor, graphics program, and probably something to make a PDF with, if you want to create instructional documents, information products, or the like. Now, you could go out and buy MS Office (I found it on sale just now for $125), Photoshop ($128), and Adobe Distiller (makes PDF’s) ($78), and you’d have the basic tools you’ll need to get started (since you’re reading this, we know you’ve already got a computer and an internet connection, and I can’t imagine running a business of any sort these days without those two things!). And if you spent money on the above, you just shelled out more than three hundred bucks you didn’t need to spend.

For word processing, a spreadsheet and PDF creation, you can use Open Office. It’s a free, open source program with the same basic functionality of MS Office, and a few extra goodies (like the PDF thing) besides! For graphics work, use GIMP (links to both of these found below). Another fantastic, free, open source program, and look at you go! Your first visit here and you’ve already saved more than three hundred bucks! Go you!

Alright, I’ve hit you with a good bit of information so far, so let’s pause for a moment. Read the summary below, go grab your free software, and then come back here and we’ll dive into the meat of it, and start making you some money!

Overview – Basic Ways of Making Money

Below, are the basic (very broad) notions of the various extra income ideas we’ll be exploring in the other articles on this site. There’s a lot of material to be covered under each section, and (understandably, given the title of this website), this is where the real meat will be found, but just to get us started, and to get your mind turning around the topic of what you might like to do, here are the basic ways we’ll be exploring to earn you some extra income!

• Selling (your own) physical goods and services – This can be done either locally or scaled up on the ‘net (or both), and is probably one of the fastest ways to get set up and making a bit of cash quickly. To get some solid ideas about things you can do in this area, check out the article entitled “Earning Extra Money – Physical Goods and Services.”

• Selling someone else’s stuff – Lots of room to explore here. From wholesaling and drop shipping to Ebay, to affiliate marketing, this is a huge area, with almost limitless possibilities.

• Selling information – This option, at least the way we’ll be approaching it, is almost exclusively an online one. It is possible to do this offline, but it’s tricky (for a number of reasons), and not something I’d recommend to a newcomer to the business. Selling information online, however, is easier than you might think!

• Participating in various “online money making programs” – This section will be covered for those of you who are a little gun shy about owning and operating your own business. There are some valid, genuine money making opportunities out there that don’t involve “selling anything,” and I know from direct experience that this is a bit of a turnoff for some people, so we’ll go over some things for you to consider in future articles. There are a variety of “programs” or “systems” for generating profits on the ‘net. Some good, some not so good. For an overview of these, please refer to the article on “Earning Extra Money – How to Make Money on the Internet”

• Adsense Content Sites – This one is fun, and probably my favorite. In this case, you’re focused exclusively online, and you’re not selling anything per se (well, technically, you’re selling the traffic that your site generates, but that’s not quite the same as “traditional selling” to the minds of most folks). The basic idea is…you make a site on a topic that people are searching for, and sell ad space to Google (or other ad networks), who in turn, sell advertising to big companies. People come to your site, click an ad, and you make a little money! Loads of ground to cover on this topic, and if this is your thing, you’ll want to check out the article entitled “Establishing a Passive Income Business.”

We’ll also cover these topics with some thought given to age groupings. For example, a lot of people have expressed an interest in finding ways for kids to earn money, and while those methods fall into the same broad categories you’ll find above, we’ll give them a separate, and somewhat different treatment, so…lots to read and lots to learn!

Summary – “Big Secrets Revealed”* If you notice a bit of irony here, you’re not wrong. I decided to use this tongue-in-cheek phrase because the “secrets” below aren’t really secrets at all, and yet, this is the kind of stuff you’ll wind up paying for if you invest in some “guru programs.”

• Repetition in the Key to Success! Focused, sustained action will lead you to your desired result!

• Don’t allow yourself to get distracted! Be scientific. Try one thing (change one variable) at a time. If it works for you (and remember that what works for me may not work for you, which is why the testing is necessary), scale it up. If it doesn’t work for you, ditch it and move on. Thankfully, the internet makes testing a VERY fast process! No need to spend months and months trying an idea that doesn’t work.

• Saving money is just as good as making it! Whenever possible, use free stuff!

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